


A Warrior of the Force

by FlightL3ss_Bird1029



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Background Relationships, Canon-Typical Violence, Crack Treated Seriously, Force-Sensitive Clone Troopers (Star Wars), Force-Sensitive Original Character(s), Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Anakin Skywalker, Weirdness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27259597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlightL3ss_Bird1029/pseuds/FlightL3ss_Bird1029
Summary: "If that creature is as powerful as they say, what good are these rifles gonna be?""Ah, shut up Kosmos."-This is the last thing Kosmos remembers before the Zillo Beast smashes through the huge metal doors of the containment facility and crushes Kosmos and his squad... That is if Kosmos hadn't somehow jumped out of the way, avoiding death by a hair.The Jedi tell him he channeled the force, and Kosmos really just wants to go back to sleep.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Barriss Offee/Ahsoka Tano, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 14
Kudos: 50
Collections: Commander Fox, Randomness





	1. The Jedi Talk

**Author's Note:**

> This one is going to be a little strange, but hopefully fun. I've at least had a lot of fun writing it so far. A while ago an idea popped into my mind of one of the lesser known clone wars clones, a random clone named Kosmos who dies after only one line of dialogue in season 2 against the Zillo Beast, suddenly becoming Force Sensitive and going on misadventures. I thought it was funny. So here we are.  
> This is my first time posting Fanfiction but I'm super excited to see how it goes! If you like what you see please leave me a comment, it would mean a lot.  
> Huge thanks to LuckySeven for encouraging me to post this!

Kosmos wakes up with a major headache and the feeling that every single bone in his body has decided to rearrange itself. If he didn’t know any better he would think that someone had tried to put him through a fruit squeezer and had only partially succeeded.

What’s more is that when he opens his eyes, groaning a little from pain, he’ll admit, he has absolutely no clue where he is. His surroundings are so out of place from the usual clone healing stations, that for a heartstopping second, he thinks he’s in an enemy base. But a few things catch his eye to quickly drive the thought from his head. One, he’s the only other patient in the room. There’s a few other beds he can see but none others are occupied. Two, he isn’t restrained or sedated in any way as far as he can tell, which would be a huge oversight on the part of his captors. And last, and most confusing of all, there are 3 other occupants in the room. And they’re all Jedi. Kosmos can’t believe his eyes, but unless he’s been given some damn good drugs, those are definitely Jedi.

Maybe he really did die and the Jedi are doing some sort of spiritual ritual over himself and the other clones who died. After all, if Kosmos is being realistic (which he tends to do), he definitely should be dead. When a giant monster the size of a lightspeed transport crushes you, you tend to die. 

And yet here he seems to be: in a medical bed, surrounded by Jedi, and very much in so much pain. He must not be dead then, because carrying the pain of getting stomped on by a giant monster into death seems a little cruel, even by the annoyingly harsh standards clones live by. 

Kosmos tries to sit up, but immediately has to drop back onto his pillow with a groan when sharp knife-like pains spark along his legs and back, making his head spin and his stomach churn. This seems to draw the attention of the jedi in the room and one of them comes briskly to his side now, frowning slightly.

“Trooper, you are in no condition to be doing anything but lying down,” she says with an accent. “The only thing I want you doing right now is resting.”

Kosmos is tempted to argue but this woman is clearly no nonsense. He thinks she must be the doctor, based on the data pad she’s carrying that he can only assume has patient names or something like that on it. Well -- Kosmos is no medical expert. 

Upon further inspection Kosmos sees what he can immediately recognize as a lightsaber clipped to her belt, making her a jedi. Although, she isn’t one he recognizes like most of the other Jedi generals.

“With all due respect, sir, where am I and what am I doing here? What happened to the Zillo Beast? Is the rest of my squad here?” Kosmos is rambling but he is honestly very confused so he doesn’t have the brain space to be embarrassed about it right now. 

The Jedi’s expression softens a little and she says, “Calm yourself, trooper. Everything is fine now. You have been brought here to the Healing Halls of the Jedi Temple for the injuries you sustained during the conflict. The threat of the Zillo Beast has been neutralized and the planet is safe. As for your other questions, I am afraid you will have to ask master Windu, as he is the one who brought you here and will have more knowledge than I do.”

Kosmos’ brain stalls as he tries to sift through all of this new information he has just received. The Zillo Beast is no longer a threat and is hopefully dead so that’s good. But did the doctor just say he was inside the Jedi Temple? No clone has ever been brought inside the Jedi temple for healing as far as Kosmos knows, so why would he be here now? And if his brain hasn’t just decided to implode completely, he’s pretty sure that the doctor said he was brought here by General Mace Windu of the Jedi Council! Maybe he really did need rest, because there’s no way he isn’t hallucinating. 

But the doctor just smiles as he falls deeper and deeper into befuddlement, and steps to the side to reveal the two other Jedi Kosmos had glanced earlier. The clone is shocked to see not only General Windu, just like the doctor said, but General Obi-Wan Kenobi as well. He immediately wants to kick himself because how in the hell had he not recognized two Jedi generals as distinguished as Windu and Kenobi.

The Generals come forward and Kosmos almost falls out of his bed by saluting too fast. Instead, the “I am getting stabbed” feeling comes back and he has to try and ignore the dirty look the doctor gives him as a result.

“At ease, trooper,” General Windu tells him, cracking the smallest of smiles at his antics. When Kosmos relaxes back into his bed again the general just looks at him for a few seconds before asking him softly, “What’s your name?”

“CT-5213, sir” Kosmos answers immediately.

The Jedi general frowns now. “Not your number. Your name.”

Kosmos swallows hard. His head is spinning again but for a whole new reason this time. “It’s… Kosmos. Sir.”

That small smile is back on the general’s face. “Pleased to meet you, Kosmos,” he says. “I’m general Mace Windu and this is General Kenobi.” He gestures to General Kenobi who just nods in acknowledgement. He then turns to the doctor Kosmos hadn’t recognized. “And this is Dr. Nema. She’s been healing you for the past few days. You took a hard hit from the Zillo Beast and needed time in a bacta tank, but you should be alright now.”

Kosmos nods his thanks to the doctor but he’s so very confused. He wishes General Windu would stop beating around the bush and would just tell him why he’s here already.

The general continues. “When the Zillo Beast broke out of the facility, much of the security we had in place was destroyed immediately. We sent some rescue teams in to look for survivors… but there weren’t many.” He doesn’t quite meet Kosmos’ gaze and his stomach drops. That answers the question about the rest of his squad. He pushes down his despair and leaves it for his future self to take care of.

“How did I survive, sir?” Kosmos asks, trying to refocus on his confusion and need for answers.

Windu frowns again. “I got a call from one of the rescue squads that they had found a survivor, but they needed a Jedi or some kind of heavy machinery to get them out of the rubble safely. We didn’t really have time to go get cranes so I went to lend my services.”

“So I lived somehow? How the hell- I mean... uhh... how did I survive.” Kosmos doesn’t really know the Jedi rules on swearing because he isn’t usually around one this long, but General Windu doesn’t seem bothered.

“Well, that’s what we’ve been wondering,” he says. When Kosmos just stares at him blankly he continues. “When I got to the wreckage everything was completely destroyed and the only survivors were those who happened to be near the edges of the destruction. Everyone except you. Your legs had been crushed under some rubble, but you weren’t dead. Once I lifted the debris off of you you were taken to my gunship and I brought you here. Your legs were severely damaged and this was the best way to deal with it quickly.”

Kosmos’ head is reeling again, like he’s been doing barrel rolls in a starship over and over again. Something just isn’t clicking with him.

“That can’t be the whole reason," he mutters to himself. “There’s no way they’d bring a clone all the way to the jedi temple just for healing.” Kosmos keeps pondering to himself for a few seconds until he realizes none of the Jedi are talking anymore. He lookes up to see General Windu’s eyebrows raised and General Kenobi trying to hide a smile behind him. “Did I say that out loud?”

“Yes.” Windu replies dryly.

“Oh. Well, um, the point still stands general. No clone has ever been brought here for healing. Plus, there’s a medical base here on Coruscant. It would have taken the same amount of time to get me there and into a bacta tank.”

Before General Windu can answer, a low chuckle sounds from behind him. “Quite an observant one isn’t he, Mace?” General Kenobi has finally broken his silence and calmly comes forward to look at Kosmos. “Tell me, Kosmos, is it really that hard to believe the Jedi would allow a clone into the healing halls?”

Kosmos feels like this is some kind of test, but he decides being honest is the best way to go. “Yes sir,” he replies, shrugging slightly. Because it is hard to believe the Jedi would all of a sudden start providing force healing to clones when they’ve never done so before.

General Windu sighs while General Kenobi fights another chuckle. “Fine,” Windu grunts, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “While we don’t usually allow anyone who is not a Jedi into the healing halls, these were extenuating circumstances.”

“So… what kind of extenuating circumstances?” Kosmos asks. General Windu seems to be quickly losing any kind of patience while General Kenobi’s smile is quickly growing to shit eating grin, which Kosmos has never seen on a jedi before.

“Well your legs were shattered, one would think that would be enough to bring you to a highly advanced infirmary.” General Windu grumbles.  
Kosmos shrugs again. “Legs have been broken before. It hasn’t been enough before. Why did you bring me here instead of the clone infirmary on Coruscant?”  
General Windu looks ready to re-break Kosmos’ legs (which seems to greatly amuse the other two Jedi in the room) so General Kenobi seems to take pity on him, sitting down in a little chair next to Kosmos’ bed like a parent about to tell their kid a bedtime story.

“Forgive us for not being more straightforward with you Kosmos,” Kenobi says. “Your situation is one we have not yet encountered. You see, Master Windu was not lying when he told you there were few survivors in the wreckage of the facility you were stationed at. In fact, you were the only living being in a 100 meter radius.”

Kenobi looked at Kosmos expectantly like this should be incredibly important news. “So…” Kosmos starts, “what does that have to do with anything?”

“You shouldn’t be alive.” General Windu barks, seemingly starting to lose patience in the face of Kosmos’ severely poor comprehension skills.

“You were found several meters away from the rest of your squad.” General Kenobi states calmly. “And based on the fact that they were all crushed where they were standing,” Kosmos tries to hide his wince, “you should have suffered the same fate.”

Something in Kosmos’ head is... buzzing. He’s hyper aware of everyone in the room, from General Kenobi’s calm stoicism, General Windu’s tense trepidation, and the doctor’s anticipation and confusion that seems to rival Kosmos’ own. 

“That doesn’t make any sense, General.” Kosmos just wants to go back to bed, this is all getting to be too much. “I was standing right next to my squad when the Zillo Beast tore through our defenses. There’s no possible way I could have escaped getting killed.”

Kosmos watches as the two generals exchange some kind of silent conversation. It ends when general Windu gives a short nod and General Kenobi turns back to Kosmos.  
“Kosmos,” he says, “what do you know about the Force?”

Not very much, honestly. But that’s probably not the answer the general is looking for, so Kosmos thinks about it for a second. As he does the strange head spinning intensifies, like his mind has latched onto the word force.

“It’s… like some sort of magic power, right? Something the Jedi use that gives them all sorts of badass abilities.”

General Kenobi smiles again at that. “Well that is one way to put it. But the force is not magic, it flows through us all and in every living thing. It balances the universe and maintains order.”

“That sounds a lot like magic to me.” Kosmos mutters to himself. 

“That being said, there is an important reason for my bringing it up other than a spiritual lesson.” General Kenobi is deadly serious now, all former signs of humor gone.

General Windu gets up to stand at the foot of Kosmos’ bed and starts pacing as he talks. “Your survival wasn’t just luck. In the Force there is no such thing as luck.”

Kosmos vehemently disagrees with that but it’s probably not the time for him to mention it. But as both generals stare at him, his head starts to spin even harder. He’s starting to think he knows what the generals are implying, and he hopes to every being that he’s wrong.

“In order to avoid being crushed from all of the debris, you would’ve had to move incredibly fast,” General Windu continues. “A feat that would’ve only been possible for a Jedi. Or another being sensitive to the Force.”

Kosmos’ heart stops. Unless two of the most powerful and serious Jedi in the universe suddenly decided to become pranksters, they’re telling a horrifying truth. His head spins at an almost unbearable rate, like whatever Kosmos just realized has caused his brain to do sprints in his head.

“You’re right that we wouldn’t usually bring anyone other than Jedi here,” the general continues, either oblivious or uncaring of Kosmos’ mental implosion. “However, this was a special circumstance. As soon as I landed at the containment facility I could feel a strong presence in the Force nearby. I thought maybe it was some kind of leftover energy from the Zillo Beast, but once I got to your position it became clear it was you.”

“Alright hold on I think I got hit on the head by the Zillo Beast or something because it sounds like you’re calling me a kriffing Jedi!” Kosmos practically yells.  
The corner of Windu’s mouth twitches up again but he doesn’t quite smile. “Not a Jedi, just containing elements of the Force.”

“But didn’t you say the Force flows through everyone?” Kosmos argues. “So that’s probably what you were feeling. I’m just your token Force being just like everyone else.”

“I said the Force flows through everyone,” General Kenobi contributes, “Not that everyone could use it. What master Windu sensed in you was the latter.”

Kosmos...is not having a great time. This whole situation doesn’t make any sense. “I can’t use the kriffing Force. I never have been before so I can’t now. No clones can use the Force!”

General Kenobi puts a placating hand on his shoulder and says, “We know it’s unprecedented, Kosmos, but that’s why we brought you here. We wanted to make sure it was real.”

In an instant of panic Kosmos turns to Dr. Nema who had been silent so far. She’s standing by one of the other beds in the room, pretending to busy herself by smoothing out the sheets. When she realizes everyone in the room is staring at her expectantly, she sighs, grabs her data pad from the bedside table, and joins Kosmos at his bedside.

“I ran multiple tests after your time in the bacta tank designed to test Force sensitivity.” she says flicking through the data on her screen. “All of the results I received came back overwhelmingly positive.” She hands the datapad to Kosmos so he can see the damning evidence and gives him a sympathetic look. “Sorry Kosmos, the results speak for themselves. You’re definitely Force sensitive.”

Kosmos’ head screams at him as he looks at all of the different tests that indeed state he is force sensitive. He can’t think straight. This feels wrong. Clones aren’t supposed to be force sensitive. Clones aren’t supposed to be anything other than soldiers.

“We wanted to be here when you woke up to try to explain things a little bit better.” General Kenobi tells him softly, hand still firmly on Kosmos’ shoulder. “There’s still too much we don’t know, and you need some rest. Once you’re fully healed we’ll take you to the Council and… figure things out from there.” He gives general Windu a meaningful look and they seem to have another silent conversation. But Kosmos can’t pay attention long enough to try and decipher anything. Every inch of his body is tense with the realization of the implications of this whole situation. The generals aren’t just going to “figure things out” with the council, they’re going to discuss what they’re going to do with him. Kosmos may be a little slow sometimes when it comes to connecting dots, but he’s no idiot. This situation is completely unprecedented. Never before have the Jedi dealt with something like this, and Kosmos knows that doesn’t bode well for him. He trusts the Jedi as generals and would willingly follow them into battle like any other clone would. But did he trust them to protect a clone trooper above anything else and treat them with the respect they would for any of the other Jedi in the order? Kosmos has too many dead brothers to not know the answer to that question.

As if feeling his inner turmoil, (which he probably does. Stupid Force sensitivity bullshit) General Kenobi squeezes his shoulder and removes his hand. “We’ll let you rest and process all of this, Kosmos. I can see you might need some time alone.”

“Um. Y-yes. Thank you, general.” Kosmos manages to choke out.

General Kenobi offers him one last smile before he leaves the walks to the door. Turning around to look at General Windu expectantly in the doorway.

General Windu gazes at Kosmos for a few more moments, deep in thought, before nodding at him and joining General Kenobi to leave the room. 

After a few moments Dr. Nema puts her hand on his shoulder and pushes him down onto the bed. “Alright it’s been a long day. It’s time for you to get some real rest.”  
Kosmos doesn’t have the energy to argue so he just nods and settles back into the mattress, head forever spinning. 

The doctor leaves a few minutes later, turning the lights off and bidding Kosmos farewell. He just lays there in the dark, utterly confused, with a horrible foreboding feeling deep in his gut. 

He realizes he better get some sleep. If there’s one thing Kosmos concretely knows about the Force and the Jedi it’s that things are going to get infinitely more complicated before they get better.


	2. I Find Your Lack of Pants Disturbing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for a council meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the support so far it means a lot!
> 
> Huge thanks to LuckySeven and LittleBird332 for helping me edit this one!

Kosmos really wishes he had his pants. 

Since he’s been forced to spend three entire days healing in the Jedi temple (because Dr. Nema is an evil woman), Kosmos hasn’t had any time to clean his armor. Or, in the case of the armor from his hips down, hasn’t had any time to get new armor because the old set has been cracked and scratched beyond repair. Looking at it had made Kosmos wince at the thought of his legs being wrapped up in the carnage. 

So here he is, walking down the halls of the Jedi temple, with only the top half of his armor and only his blacks on his bottom half. At least his helmet is mostly intact so none of the Jedi can see his embarrassed blush. 

The only thing that’s stopping anyone from coming up to him and asking if he’s horribly lost or got separated from his circus band is General Kenobi walking close to his side, doing what Kosmos thinks is a pretty poor job at hiding his glee.

The general had shown up at his bedside unannounced to take Kosmos up to see the Jedi council. Although the general has been polite and chatty (Kosmos has started to realize this is normal for the general), Kosmos can feel that he’s hiding something and it’s making him uncomfortable being around Kosmos. 

Although if Kosmos had to escort a man with no pants to a highly esteemed council meeting he would probably be uncomfortable too.

If Kosmos is being honest, he’s really not looking forward to this meeting anyway. He doesn’t know if he’s ready to trust the council. Most clones are ready to give their unconditional support to the Jedi that lead them into battle as their generals, himself included. But something about a group of wise, all seeing sages who just sit back and direct others into battle doesn’t sit right with him. Sure a lot of the council lead armies of their own, but a small number of Jedi who are basically super powered ninja-heroes leading regular soldiers in a war doesn’t work so well sometimes.

Not only is Kosmos not looking forward to talking to the Jedi because of their war effort, but he also has to go in front of them all and try to show force powers he can’t even use. Ever since Kosmos had woken up after the Jedi’s visit he had been trying to use the abilities he’s seen Jedi use on old holograms, like lifting heavy objects with their minds and getting anyone to do their bidding.

Kosmos can’t even pull so much as a data pad towards himself, much less any giant or impressive objects. As far as he’s concerned this meeting is just a massive waste of time where he’s just going to be written off as a simple clone who should just keep to fighting. Maybe General Windu’s force user radar is broken or something.

“Something the matter, Kosmos?” General Kenobi asks, breaking Kosmos out of his musings.

“Oh, uh. No, sir.” Kosmos stammers. “I just don’t really think this meeting is necessary.”

“Oh? And what makes you say that?” The General inquires, eyebrows raised slightly.

“Well sir, it’s just that I’m not so sure I really have this force or whatever.” Kosmos tries to explain, not really knowing how to phrase what he’s thinking to the Jedi. “I mean, I never have shown any signs of having the force before, and I’ve worked near Jedi before, so wouldn’t someone have said something before now?”

General Kenobi strokes his beard and thinks for a second. “Yes, it does seem very strange, doesn’t it? Well, it is best not to dwell on all of those questions right now, Kosmos. We will consult the council shortly and together we will do our best to answer your questions.”

That… is actually way more unhelpful than Kosmos was expecting from an all-wise wizard man. Apparently his disappointment shows on his face because General Kenobi smiles crookedly.

“Don’t worry, Kosmos,” he insists, “The Force rarely makes sense at first, but will become more clear in time.”

Kosmos just nods. Because, well. General Kenobi is really really bad at being encouraging. Instead of saying this out loud, Kosmos sighs and follows General Kenobi as they continue down the hall towards the council meeting.

Before they can get very far they’re interrupted by a voice from down the hall. General Kenobi stops in his tracks and sighs heavily, a sense of fond exasperation coming off of him as he turns around to greet the pair making their way down the hall towards them.

“Ah Anakin, Ahsoka. It’s good to see you.” General Kenobi says as the two strangers come to a stop in front of them. Kosmos has a brief moment where he tries to stifle his justifiable surprise at seeing General Skywalker of the kriffing 501st and his apprentice, and ends up coughing violently.

“Master! There you are!” General Skywalker exclaims, an easy grin on his face. “Ahsoka and I have been looking for you.”

“Is that so?” General Kenobi says airily, thumping Kosmos on the back as he continues to sputter beside him. “I’m afraid I’m a tad busy at the moment, Anakin, so whatever you need will have to wait for a bit.”

“Aw, Master. Don’t be like that!” Skywalker fake whines, causing both General Kenobi and Commander Tano to roll their eyes. “What could possibly be so important that you don’t have time for your favorite two Jedi?” He gestures to himself and the commander, doing little jazz hands to prove his point. General Kenobi just raises an unimpressed eyebrow and gestures pointedly at Kosmos who is attempting to pull oxygen back into his lungs and maybe just hide anywhere please. “Who’s this?”

General Kenobi sighs again. Kosmos is starting to think this is a common occurrence with Skywalker around. “This is Kosmos, Anakin. He’s the clone I was telling you about the other day.”

“This is the clone Master Windu felt the Force in?” Skywalker asks, his interest now piqued. He looks Kosmos up and down and then frowns. “Where are your pants?”

Kosmos almost wishes the Zillo Beast would crash through the wall and try to step on him again. Anything to save him from the embarrassment of a highly acclaimed Jedi general asking him where his pants are.

Thankfully the commander saves the day and prevents Kosmos from replying.

“Master! You can’t just ask someone questions like that out of nowhere!” She gasps, looking personally affronted. “How would you feel if someone asked you about those slippers you always wear when you wander around during sleep-” General Skywalker slams his hand over his apprentice's mouth with a very intense glare.

“Thank you, Ahsoka, we get the point,” He grits out. Commander Tano giggles to herself when the General removes his hand as General Kenobi coughs into his hand in a poor attempt to cover a laugh.

Kosmos looks at the three of them and can’t remember ever feeling more confused in his entire life. He’s starting to wonder if the entire Jedi order is just insane or if he just has the luck of meeting the insane ones immediately. 

After a few moments General Kenobi collects himself and clears his throat. “Although I’d love to stick around and talk about your slippers Anakin, Kosmos and I really must be going now.”

“Where are you off to?” Commander Tano asks. Kosmos thinks the question is innocent enough, but he feels rather than sees General Kenobi's demeanor change. For the first time since Kosmos had met the Jedi he feels the calm the General constantly radiates grow slightly anxious.

“We’re going to the council so they can ask Kosmos a few questions -- and hopefully answer some of his,” He informs Commander Tano, calmly enough, although Kosmos notices how he specifically avoids eye contact with General Skywalker.

Said general’s face immediately darkens and all signs of his easygoing air disappears immediately.

If the commander notices her master’s sudden change she doesn’t show it. “Do you mind if we walk you there?” She asks. “And maybe we can stick around for a little bit! It’s been forever since I said hi to Master Plo.”

“Ahsoka, I don’t really think-” General Kenobi starts.

“Great!” She exclaims, pointedly stepping around General Kenobi and starting down the hall before stopping and raising her eyebrows. “Well? Are you coming?”

General Kenobi doesn’t say anything for a second, before sighing and turning to Kosmos. He just shrugs in response and follows the young commander down the hall. Let the generals brood, at least someone seems to be enjoying this mess.

Kosmos hears another sigh and looks behind him to see General Kenobi and General Skywalker follow him down the hall, albeit with put upon looks on their faces.

Kosmos catches up to the commander and falls into stride with her, noticing her trying to hide a smirk.

Kosmos can’t help the huff of laughter that escapes him, drawing the attention of the commander towards him, her eyes slightly wide and eyebrows raised.

“I’ll be honest, Commander,” he tells her, “you have a special way of dealing with the generals. You should share your tactics with some of my brothers. I bet the information would be critically valuable to them.”

The Commander lets out a surprised laugh, bringing a fist up to stifle it. “Actually, I learned that little trick from Commander Cody,” she tells him quietly as to avoid the two Jedi behind them. “He told me it works on Master Obi-Wan every time.”

It’s Kosmos’ turn to laugh now, throwing his head back to do it and gaining many stares in the halls. He finds he doesn’t care. “That makes a lot of sense based on what I’ve heard about him. My brothers are always telling me he has to put up with a lot from Kenobi and Skywalker.”

Commander huffs and mutters “You got that right,” before scrunching her eyebrows in confusion. “You mean you’ve never met Commander Cody before?” And Kosmos can’t help but throw his head back and laugh again. He’s not used to talking to someone like Commander Tano; smart, but admittedly ill-informed when it came to the happenings of anyone outside the Jedi Council.

“No, I don’t know the Commander.” Kosmos laughs. “I’ve been on Coruscant since I became a shiny and the Commander has been deployed since before I even left Kamino. Not all clones know each other, you know.” He says it teasingly but his smile slips off his face when he catches the Commander’s expression. 

She’s frowning deeply and her brow is scrunched together in confusion. Kosmos can feel waves of surprise, confusion, sadness, and several more emotions coming off of her strong enough to make his head fuzzy.

“Ahsoka?” General Skywalker is suddenly right beside his padawan, obviously noticing something is wrong. He sends a glare to Kosmos like he has something to do with it, causing Kosmos to take a few quick steps back and put his hands up in placation.

“It’s alright, Master.” the Commander says, suddenly bright again despite her distress seconds ago. “I was just thinking about something. Come on, we don’t want Kosmos and Master Obi-Wan to be late!” And just like that she’s walking briskly down the hall again completely carefree.

But Kosmos can still feel something strange from Commander Tano that doesn’t feel quite right and he knows she’s just trying to hide her feelings for the moment, probably for her master’s sake if the way he reacted like he was ready to brawl with Kosmos is any indication.

General Kenobi and General Skywalker look at each other again before following Tano down the hall and Kosmos has no choice but to keep following. They walk the rest of the way in silence and Kosmos’ nerves start to pick up the closer they get to their destination.

Finally they stop in front of a large set of double doors, gilded fancily with gold. General Kenobi takes a deep breath and turns to Skywalker and Tano and says, “Thank you both for your ever interesting presence, but we must go now. I will come find you both when I’m done here and we can talk then.”

General Skywalker rolls his eyes. “That could take hours if this meeting takes as long as usual.” He then glances at Kosmos and furrows his brow. “Would you like us to wait here until Kosmos is done, Master? I assume he’s only part of the meeting agenda today?”

Some kind of silent conversation passes between the two generals as Kosmos can do nothing more than watch in confusion.

“Yes, thank you ,Anakin.” General Kenobi finally says. “He should have his assignment when he comes out.”

Kosmos doesn’t know what “assignment” means, and he’s not eager to find out, but the sooner he gets this Jedi meeting over with, the sooner he can maybe get some answers. Plus getting out of this hallway between two Jedi pretending he can’t hear everything they’re saying would be nice too.

General Kenobi pushes one of the fancy doors open and holds it open for Kosmos.

“Good luck, Kosmos!” Commander Tano calls as he trudges through the door, which really doesn’t make him feel better if he’s being honest.

As soon as Kosmos enters the council chamber he’s hit with an overwhelming wave of feelings. He feels everything from joy to irritation, excitement to boredom, and it all feels like a spear driving right between his eyes. The only thing that keeps his knees from buckling is General Kenobi’s firm hand on his shoulder, emanating calm and poise that Kosmos desperately tries to latch onto.

Suddenly the oppressive force disappears and Kosmos is left breathing heavily in its absence. It’s only then that he finally looks up and sees the room full of Jedi Masters sitting in a circle around the circumference of the room, staring straight back at him. Kosmos has been around a few Jedi in his relatively short stint on Coruscant, and he’s even met a few council members like General Kenobi and General Windu, but never has he seen so many powerful Jedi all together at once. 

There are some that Kosmos recognizes; General Shaak Ti’s holograph is there from Kamino looking calm and proud like always. General Plo Koon is there, expression unreadable under his breathing apparatus. General Windu is sitting regal and composed, looking at Kosmos with a brow raised. He also recognizes who can only be General Yoda, a small green little man with big eyes and big ears, kicking his little feet happily. The rest are sitting around the circle looking at Kosmos with mixtures of boredom and curiosity. General Mundi specifically looks like he would rather be anywhere else than at this meeting. 

Only 9 of the 12 seats are taken at the moment and it’s really starting to sink in to Kosmos that, no matter how big of a deal General Kenobi has been making this out to be, the Jedi really don’t care about a Force sensitive clone. He suddenly has a really bad feeling about this whole situation.

“I see you were not lying to us, Master Windu.” General Mundi states blandly to the room at large. “It seems he is indeed Force sensitive. Perhaps you should give him a lesson in how to put his shields up after this is over.” He shoots Kosmos a disapproving look like he’s supposed to know what the hell “shields” are.

General Windu frowns slightly at the Cerean Jedi and says, “Yes it seems you are correct Master Mundi.” He then turns his attention back to Kosmos and General Kenobi. “Nice of you to finally join us, you two. Did you get lost on the way here?”

General Kenobi doesn’t miss a beat. “Ah, yes, I apologize for our tardiness, we ran into a little detour as we were headed this way.”

“Skywalker and Tano?” General Ti asks with a grin.

“Who else?” General Kenobi answers, easily matching her grin with one of his own.

Most of the Jedi chuckle at what seems to be a regular occurrence for them. Even General Mundi rolls his eyes in what might be fondness. The sight makes Kosmos relax, if only barely. He tries to remind himself that all of these Jedi are trusted Generals that many of his brothers would lay down their lives for. So maybe he can put his faith in them too.

“I do not need to remind you all that we do not have much time here,” General Mundi speaks up again, all humor gone. “Let us get this silly force clone situation over with so that we may move on to more important matters.”

Alright, maybe he should just keep his faith to himself and tell General Mundi to pull the lightsaber out of his ass instead.

General Kenobi’s hand tensing minutely on Kosmos’ shoulder is his only sign of irritation as he nods in acknowledgement and takes his seat next to General Mundi.

Suddenly Kosmos is aware that he’s standing by himself in the middle of all of the Jedi’s gazes now and snaps to attention, mentally cursing himself for not doing so sooner.

He’s relieved to see General Windu give him that miniscule smile of his before saying, “At ease, Kosmos. How are you feeling?” He glances deliberately at the way Kosmos is only half dressed and the overabundance of scuff marks on the armor he is wearing.

Kosmos clears his throat and shuffles from foot to foot before clasping his hands behind his back and forcing himself to still. “I’m fine, General. This has all just been slightly… overwhelming is all.”

The General nods, accepting that answer, and says, “We’re just going to ask you a few questions today and then give you your new assignment here on Coruscant.”

Kosmos hates the way his heart falls at the mention of a new assignment. He knew, of course he knew, that the Jedi generals would write off his “Force ability” as some freak accident for a clone and reassign him and maybe send him back to Kamino for testing. They didn’t have the time or resources these days with the war picking up the way it has to spend time on a single clone like him. 

But still, deep down part of Kosmos had been secretly hoping that he could learn more about the Jedi. Sure, he knows that most of the Jedi started when they were just children, definitely not when they were a fully grown adult soldier (technically Kosmos is about 10 years old in human years but he doubts that argument will really hold up). 

Either way, when Kosmos hears the General talk about reassignment, he’s disappointed but not surprised. He’s about to voice his confirmation, resigned to his fate, when he hears a displeased noise sound from across the room.

General Shaak Ti, even through the distortion of the hologram, looks annoyed. (Kosmos never thought he would describe the usually calm and stoic General as looking annoyed but here he is).

“New Assignment, Master Windu?” She asks in a dangerously innocent voice. “That is strange wording for ‘He will be studying in the Jedi Temple’ which I’m sure is what you meant, Master. Considering how this is a new and historic opportunity that we must take advantage of.”

The room at large is deadly silent for a few long seconds, every Jedi in the room staring in shock at the Togruta General, who continues to stare unflinchingly at General Windu. Kosmos himself is pretty sure his jaw would be on the floor if he didn’t still have his bucket on.

General Mundi is the first one to break the silence. “Surely, Master Ti, you cannot be suggesting that the clo- ah, Kosmos here actually undergo training here in the temple?” 

She turns her intense gaze onto General Mundi and Kosmos can’t blame the man for the way he is unable to meet her stare. “Of course that is what I’m suggesting Master Mundi. Is this not what we always do when we discover another being with Force sensitivity?” 

“While I would normally agree with you Master Ti,” A tiny man with a scar over his eye speaks up for the first time, “That is usually for young children. Our clone friend here is an adult for all intents and purposes, not a youngling.”

Kosmos clenches his jaw but doesn’t say anything. It’s true after all, he had been thinking the same thing anyway.

But apparently not all of the Jedi agree.

“I must say that I agree with Master Ti.” General Plo Koon rumbles. “While it may be true that Kosmos is older than a youngling, we cannot simply send a Force sensitive being of any kind to fall right into the pocket of the Sith.”

“Then we simply keep him here on Coruscant and keep our eyes on him.” An Iktotchi man Kosmos only vaguely recognizes states.

“If we’re going to keep him on the planet anyway then why not put him through simple training Master Tiin?” General Ti shoots back at the man.

The Jedi go back and forth arguing with each other in intense debate. Kosmos can’t believe what he’s hearing. Never in a millenia would he have expected this kind of disagreement over a simple clone. The more Generals Ti, Plo Koon, and eventually Kenobi, argue for his rights to learn the Jedi way, the more admiration he feels towards them. He had heard how greatly liked Kenobi and Plo Koon from his brothers and he remembers his own time of training with General Ti on Kamino fondly, but only now is he willing to appreciate just how great the Jedi generals really are. 

The other Jedi, on the other hand, are definitely starting to grate on Kosmos’ nerves at an impressive pace. No matter what the three Generals say to convince them to let Kosmos learn, the others refuse to budge. Every argument comes back to how he’s too old for the training and how it’s simpler for him to stay in the Coruscant Guard. Frankly Kosmos thinks it’s all a bunch of bantha shit. He doesn’t know if it’s the three General’s insistence for his training or just his own indignance that’s making him care about this more than he had before, but he feels himself growing angrier the more the other Jedi refuse to budge.

Funny how 5 minutes ago he was resigned to just leaving without so much as a second thought. If Kosmos would get to be around people like the three sticking up for him now, maybe being a Jedi could be better than he had thought.

Of course as soon as he thinks he could actually fit in with the Jedi General Windu finally speaks again and brings his hope crashing down.

“Enough.” he doesn’t shout it but his voice is firm and immediately catches the attention of the arguing Jedi. “Masters I hear all of you, but Master Mundi is right, Kosmos is too old. We’ll keep an eye on him here on Coruscant and make sure no other influences come into play. Am I clear?”

General Ti looks like she wants to continue to argue while General Kenobi and General Plo Koon seem resigned and even shoot Kosmos sympathetic glances. General Mundi just nods smartly, smugness just barely oozing past the shields the Generals had put up earlier.

“Thank you. Now, if that’s settled-”

“General wait!” Kosmos spits out in a panic. He freezes when he feels every eye snap to him in an instant, aware that he had just interrupted the Grand Master of the Jedi order. General Windu raises an eyebrow in surprise and Kosmos gulps. “E-excuse me General, for the uh, interruption, but I, uh, just thought it was important to say something.”

General Windu’s eyebrows rise even higher but he waves a hand, giving him the floor. Kosmos gulps again and looks around at all of the gathered Jedi now staring at him with mixtures of support and curiosity. When he meets General Ti’s eyes she shoots him one of her small smiles and he takes a deep breath and stands up as straight as he can.

“Generals, I understand your concern and I realize nothing like this has ever happened before. I was bred in a test tube as a simple soldier to fight and die in war. I’ve long ago accepted this as my role in this Republic. However,” Kosmos meets all of their eyes again, “if there’s something I can do, a bigger role I can play, in helping to end this war and save the Republic and my brothers, I wouldn’t hesitate to do so. I won’t pretend to know much about how the Jedi Order works, but I would like to learn. I’ll be honest, waking up with the ability to read minds and supposedly move objects was pretty kriffing freaky, but if I can learn how to control it, maybe I can make some sort of difference. I’ve heard my brothers talk about fighting alongside Jedi before. I’ve heard how much they respect and admire your strength and ability. Please allow me to learn how to wield the Force so that I may help my brothers the way you do.” Kosmos bows to the Jedi in the room, both as a thank you and as a way to show that he has finished.

When he straightens every eye is on him still, but he can feel what he thinks and hopes is grudging respect leaking through the shields of several Jedi. General Ti, for one, looks like a proud mother as she grins bright and wide and sends a wave of pure warmth to him through what Kosmos can only assume is the force.

All in all he’s feeling pretty good about how he was able to present his case, and is finally starting to relax, when General Yoda speaks for the first time.

“Thank you, I do. But too old, you are.” Nine pairs of shocked eyes shoot to the withered old Jedi in an instant and Kosmos feels like the wrinkly Jedi has kicked him in the stomach. “Stray from the old Jedi ways, we cannot. Respect tradition, we must.”

Kosmos can hardly breathe. “But General-” he tries before he’s cut off

“That is enough, Kosmos.” General Windu states firmly, and Kosmos feels his jaw click shut. “I’m sorry, but our decision is final.” He glares down all of the other Jedi as well, obviously trying to shut down the protests that are already forming from the few Generals that had stood up for Kosmos. Especially General Ti, who looks ready to kill at the moment. “Kosmos, Please report to Commander Fox at the Coruscant Guard offices and he will brief you on your assignment. That is all, trooper. You are dismissed.”

Kosmos wants to argue. Wants to say that he’s capable of being a Jedi just like the rest of them. But he knows that he could stand here for hours and make no progress. He’ll never be a Jedi and he needs to accept that.

He salutes General Windu with a forced “Sir” and turns on his heel to get out of the Council Chamber as quickly as possible.

As soon as Kosmos is back in the halls of the Jedi Temple and the Council doors are closed behind him, he slides down the wall and sits with his head in his hands.

“Well how was it?” A voice above him asks, startling him out of his stupor. General Skywalker is looking down at him with something of a sympathetic look, like he has an idea of what Kosmos is upset about.

“Exhausting.” He tells the General truthfully. “And a waste of time.”

General Skywalker chuckles darkly and eyes Kosmos carefully. “Let me guess,” he says, “They said you were too old.”

Kosmos stares at the young Jedi in shock. “How did you know that?”

General Skywalker rolls his eyes. “Just a lucky guess. That’s usually their go-to excuse though.” He offers Kosmos his hand and Kosmos takes it, pulling himself to his feet.

“Well you’re right,” He says with a sigh, “No matter what I said they had their mind made up.” He sighs again. “Well I should get going, General. I’m supposed to report to Commander Fox for my new assignment.”

Skywalker studies Kosmos’ defeated posture and thinks for a second and a slow grin spreads across his face. “I can take you there,” he says slowly. “But first I have someone I want you to meet. He’s on the way there and I think meeting him will make you feel a lot better. At least he always helps me feel better after an argument with the council.”

Kosmos frowns under his helmet. “Are you sure, sir? I don’t want to keep Commander Fox waiting.”

“It won’t be a problem I’m sure Commander Fox will be understanding,” General Skywalker dismisses with a wave of his hand. “Come on, Ahsoka is visiting a friend in the temple. We’ll pick her up and head over. Obi-Wan will understand.”

Kosmos is still hesitant, but all he wants right now is to get as far away from the Council Chambers as he can right now, and he doesn’t want to turn General Skywalker down when he looks so eager. 

“Alright,” he finally relents, chuckling when General Skywalker whoops in response. “But who is this important person you want me to meet so bad?”

General Skywalker shoots him a crazy grin with a spark in his eye. “You’ll love him. He’s like a dad to me. It’s Chancellor Palpatine, Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.”


	3. Frostbite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kosmos gets to talk with the Chancellor hooray?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes this took forever to get out but it's here so hooray! 
> 
> I don't really have a set schedule for updates if that wasn't obvious already so they will be relatively sporadic until I set a schedule.
> 
> Edited by loverinstinct and LuckySeven

Kosmos’ idea of having a good time, weirdly enough, is NOT hanging out with the leader of the entire Republic and just shooting the breeze. General Skywalker, on the other hand, apparently loves to do this on a daily basis.

Despite Kosmos’ pleading and panicked babbling, General Skywalker is deeply committed to making Kosmos feel better by putting him in the most stressful situation of his entire life.

Before they leave the temple, General Skywalker leads them to what he says is called the Creche where the commander is waiting for them. She seems genuinely upset when Kosmos tells her the Jedi refused to train him.

“But you’re obviously force sensitive just like the rest of us,” she says with her brow scrunched in confusion, “why wouldn’t they train you?”

Kosmos doesn’t really have an answer for that, mostly because the only theory he has is that the Jedi aren’t comfortable training the weapons bred for war in their secret wizard arts. He’s pretty sure saying that out loud will just upset her and make General Skywalker throw him out the window so he stays quiet and looks at the General for an answer instead.

Upon noticing both sets of eyes watching him expectantly, the General coughs into his fist and scratches the back of his head.

“Um, well uhh, the council has decided that Kosmos is much too old to undergo any training, apparently.”

The Commander isn’t pleased by that answer.

“But Master,” she objects, “you said that’s what they told you once and that it was a load of-”

“YES! Yes, thank you Ahsoka. I remember what I said.” General Skywalker coughs awkwardly again. “Anyways there’s nothing we can do about that right now. We just need to hope the council changes their mind on the matter over time.”

Kosmos definitely will not be hedging his bets on that particular hope. Based on the General’s tone, he doesn’t even sound very convinced himself. Kosmos is starting to wonder about the esteemed General and his less than kind view of the Jedi Council. He mentally makes a note to ask the General about it later.

But right now isn’t the time to dwell on it: Commander Tano has broken out into a pout and the General is absolutely flailing under the weight of it. Kosmos decides to spare him.

“So you said we were going to the Senate building, General?”

The question has its desired effect and Commander Tano visibly perks up.

“The Senate building? Didn’t you already go see Senator Amidala, Master?” She asks innocently.

General Skywalker just gives her a _look._

“That’s none of your business, Snips. Besides, I wanted to take Kosmos there to meet Chancellor Palpatine. He always helps calm me down when Jedi business gets too overwhelming.” The last sentence is said to Kosmos, so the General completely misses the way Commander Tano’s face blanches and her eyes go wide. Not only that but Kosmos feels something heavy like dread begin to seep off of her into the air.

She opens her mouth to say something, but General Skywalker is already moving down the hall, giving them nothing else to do but follow him. As they walk down the hall, Kosmos glances over at Ahsoka to see she’s trying hard to school her expression.

_Ah what the hell_ , he thinks.

“Is something wrong, Commander?” he asks her. “I noticed you seem less than thrilled that we’re going to see the Chancellor. Not that I can blame you,” he chuckles. “I’m not very excited to have the leader of the Republic see me like this.” He gestures down at his scuffed armor and his missing leg plates.

“Thank you, Kosmos, I’m fine.” Commander Tano gives him a weak smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I just feel weird whenever we go see the Chancellor is all.”

“Do you two go see him that often?” Kosmos wonders aloud. He supposes it really isn’t all that strange for a Jedi to be talking with a political leader like the Chancellor, but Commander Tano huffs through her nose.

“Not if it were up to me,” she mutters under her breath. Then, as if she forgot Kosmos were there, she says louder, “Usually it’s just Sky Guy who goes to visit him. I only meet him occasionally and not for very long.”

“Why’s that?” Kosmos asks. He thinks it’s a fair question, but Commander Tano rolls her eyes and shoots him a look like _Really man?_

“Let’s catch up with Sky Guy before he gets lost and ‘accidentally’ ends up at Senator Amidala’s penthouse again,” she says instead of answering, catching Kosmos off-guard and causing him to snort.

“‘Sky Guy’? Where did that name come from?” They’ve gotten closer to General Skywalker now and he whirls around with panic in his eyes when he hears them.

“Snips, don't you dare! I told you to stop calling me that!”

She grins evilly back at him and he gulps.

“Now you’re asking good questions, Kosmos,” she laughs, walking easily past her put-upon master. “Come along and I’ll tell you all about it.”

“She’s going to be the death of me!” General Skywalker groans. However, he isn’t quite able to hide the fondness that surrounds him as he starts to follow his padawan.

Kosmos just grins as he walks with them and listens to the Commander dramatically retell the story of how she and her master first met. He can’t but hope he gets to see these two again when they come back to Coruscant after their deployment. He has a feeling he could really start to like them.

~

When they finally reach the Senate building, Kosmos is about ready to dive through the windows of their transport shuttle to escape the growing pit in his stomach. The only bright side to this whole situation is that Kosmos is finally wearing new armor, having discarded what was left of his ruined set that he had been wearing pieces of for days. Great. At least he has pants to wear in front of the Chancellor.

Commander Tano has been growing steadily quieter the closer their shuttle gets to its destination, silently glancing at her master (and even Kosmos when she thinks he isn’t looking) in concern.

General Skywalker, however, doesn’t seem to notice anything. He seems at ease and happy as he watches Coruscant bustle around them.

When they finally come down for a landing on the pad Kosmos almost has a heart attack and Commander Tano has to grab his arm to keep him from falling off the side of the loading bridge. _The Chancellor is standing right there!_ Like. Just on the kriffing platform. Why is he here. Kosmos wasn’t expecting to have to see him until they were up in his offices. But no. Here he is, looking like an old shriveled raisin with an entire guard of clones surrounding him in a spread out semi-circle.

“Ah, Anakin my boy!” the Chancellor exclaims, his perfect robes hovering just above the ground. “How are you?”

Anakin grins at the Chancellor as Kosmos manages not to fall behind him.

“I’m great, sir, it’s good to see you again.” He turns to his ashen-faced padawan and the panicked Kosmos behind him. “I’ve brought Ahsoka with me today.” The Chancellor smiles warmly at Commander Tano, but she barely manages a nod back.

Then the Chancellor turns his gaze to Kosmos and everything comes to a standstill. Kosmos has grown so used to feeling other people’s emotions around him over the last few days, that the sudden cold emptiness he now feels from the Chancellor makes all of his senses scream wrong wrong wrong!

“Who do we have here, my boy?” The old man asks evenly, his voice showing no sign of having noticed Kosmos’ sudden shift in demeanor.

General Skywalker pauses as if to give Kosmos a chance to introduce himself. He doesn’t take it. “This is Kosmos, Chancellor,” the Jedi says at last, “He’s a clone trooper who was caught up in the recent Zillo Beast attack. The Jedi Temple has been helping to heal him recently.”

The Chancellor’s eyebrows rise a fraction and he gives Kosmos a look that falls just a fraction short of sympathy. “Oh dear, I’m glad you are alright, trooper, that was quite a mess indeed. But if I may ask,” he turns back to General Skywalker, “Why did the Jedi Temple decide to heal him? I was unaware that the Jedi Temple accepted patients other than Jedi.”

“Oh, well, usually we don’t. But Kosmos is a special case because of his-”

“Master!” Commander Tano suddenly shouts startling both General Skywalker and the Chancellor. “Don’t you think we should move inside? It’s so hard to hear with all these speeders buzzing around us don’t you think?”

_Apparently subtlety isn’t one of the lessons the Jedi teach_ , Kosmos thinks absently at the Commander’s attempt to redirect the conversation

“Perhaps your padawan is right,” Chancellor Palpetine admits, “let’s move inside and we can talk some more.” He flashes them another smile and then walks with his guards back into the building.

General Skywalker gives an easy-going shrug and easily falls into step with the Chancellor. The Commander sighs in relief, but before she can follow them Kosmos grabs her arm.

“What the hell was that?” He doesn’t mean to sound so harsh but the Chancellor’s weird emptiness has him on edge and he can’t help it. “Why didn’t anyone tell me this man is a creep? And why don’t you want him knowing about my magic powers.”

The look she levels at him is the single most unimpressed look he has ever received in his entire life.

“Okay, One: it’s not magic it’s the force. They’re not the same.” Kosmos rolls his eyes but unfortunately the movement goes unnoticed under his helmet. “Two: you said it yourself, the man is a creep, so I don’t want him knowing anything about your ability to use the force. Don’t forget that the entire reason the Zillo Beast was able to go on its rampage and kill so many people in the first place was because of his ego. Excuse me for wanting to prevent you from being his next science experiment.”

Kosmos doesn’t say anything, just stands there in shock as the Commander carefully removes herself from his grasp. When he continues to stare at her she raises an eyebrow as if to challenge him to disagree with her.

Finally he breaks the silence with a huff. “You’re pretty smart for a kid.”

Her face breaks into a huge self-assured grin, even as she scoffs at him. “I’m not a ‘kid’ Kosmos. I am an elite and highly trained warrior of the Force, and you shall treat me as such.”

Kosmos can’t help but burst into laughter now. And he’s only slightly embarrassed when the entire group gathered on the platform turns to stare at him. “Whatever you say ‘Oh esteemed teenaged master of the Force’” He only laughs harder at her indignant “Hey!” and would be rolling on the ground if General Skywalker wasn’t starting to look at him like an embarrassed dad with a particularly rowdy child. Kosmos pulls himself together, if just barely. Look at him, he’s starting to lose it! Laughing like a moron in front of the Chancellor.

The Commander elbows him playfully before he can get too lost in his own head and he chooses to focus on her sharp grin rather than his fluttering thoughts.

He holds on to her warmth and grasps it firmly as they enter the Senate building behind the oppressive emptiness of the Chancellor.

The inside of the Senate building itself is underwhelming to Kosmos compared to the Jedi temple. Sure, everything is neat and orderly, there’s fancy carpeting, and the walls are spotless and shining. But where the Jedi Temple is wide, open corridors and spacious rooms, the Senate Building is cramped hallways and hundreds of tiny little rooms like apartments all scrunched together to fit everyone inside.

The Chancellor and General Skywalker are talking up ahead but Kosmos doesn’t bother trying to hear them, opting instead to listen to the Commander recount her previous trips to the Senate Building in the most over exaggerated way possible. From the sound of it she only ever comes here to mostly run errands or wait as General Skywalker visits with other politicians, so she’s taken it upon herself to make the overly mundane tasks sound as interesting as possible.

Her ridiculous recounting of a story of her and her friend, someone named Barriss, ‘heroically’ delivering a message to Senator Organa at the request of General Kenobi not only has Kosmos laughing in disbelief, but the clones around them as well. Soon she had four of the Coruscant Guard Troopers eating out of her hands.

“Wait wait wait hold on!” Exclaims one of the troopers. “Senator Organa’s office isn’t even on the fifth floor, why would you need to climb through the window on that level if you’re delivering a message to him?”

“I think the better question here, Blaze, is why she didn’t just go through the front door.” A different clone chuckles.

Commander Tano sighs dramatically. “I guess you boys will never understand what it’s like to lead the dangerous life of a Jedi.”

“If that means we get to use doors,” a third clone says drily, “then I think I’m ok with that.”

Their little group breaks into fits of laughter. Commander Tano tries to look annoyed, but bursts into giggles when Blaze fails to hold back a snort.

“You know, I was going to come out here and nag at you for being so loud, but now I just want to know what kind of joke you said to get this kind of reaction, Ahsoka.” A voice behind Kosmos announces humorously.

Commander Tano gasps and whirls around. “Senator Amidala!” A young woman with a tight bun and elegant long flowing red dress is standing behind them, smile on her face and laughter in her eyes.

To say General Skywalker turns around quickly is an understatement. One of Kosmos’ brothers had told him once that Jedi could use the Force to enhance their speed and he had never believed him until now.

He steps forward quickly, trying hard to look calm and collected, and failing miserably. “Pad-er- Senator Amidala it’s good to see you again!” He practically shouts.

Their entire little procession has stopped now and is looking between General Skywalker and the newcomer, Senator Amidala. General Skywalker looks immensely embarrassed, Senator Amidala is staring at him in exasperation, and Commander Tano has that evil grin again.

“Yes, hello Master Skywalker. And to you too Padawan Tano and troopers.” Kosmos blinks at the recognition and the clones around him shuffle uncertainly. “Oh and Chancellor Palpetine,” she inclines her head in a bow, which he returns, “I see this is quite the gathering.”

“Yes, it would definitely seem that way.” The Chancellor Chuckles. “Why don’t you join us in my office, Senator? It’s been much too long since we’ve been able to chat and I would love to catch up.”

“YES! Uh, I mean, the Chancellor is right, Senator. You should join us.” General Skywalker is radiating such a strong feeling of hope and want that Kosmos looks around in shock that no one else seems to have noticed.

“I would love to, but unfortunately I must get back to working on a new bill Senator Organa and I have been working on.” She smiles tightly.

“I understand my dear,” Chancellor Palpatine sighs, “perhaps a rain check then?”

“Yes that would be wonderful.”

General Skywalker is pouting so hard the Senator turns to look at him.

“And of course that goes for you as well, Master Skywalker.” There’s something in the way she says it and the way the two seem to have a silent conversation that Kosmos can’t immediately identify. _Love_ his mind whispers, sending a shudder down his spine. _They are in love._ And he knows it’s true, can feel it in the air radiating in waves as they continue to stare at each other.

General Skywalker coughs into his fist and turns away as if just now remembering their audience. “Uh, yes that would be great, er, Senator.” She doesn’t say anything, just smiles back at him softly.

Kosmos is so confused. Is this what they think subtlety looks like? The only way they could be more obvious is if they started making out right here in the narrow hallway. Although, by the looks on their faces they aren’t far away from that if they don’t keep moving within the next few seconds.

As if coming to the same conclusion, the senator finally breaks eye contact with General Skywalker and clears her throat. “Well, it was great to see all of you, but I really must be going now. I hope to see all of you again soon.” She inclines her head again at them all and leaves with one last glance at the General.

When she’s gone and they are once again moving towards the Chancellor’s office Kosmos leans down to the Commander’s ear.

“Uh, Commander, what was the whole deal with that?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Kosmos,” she replies evenly. Kosmos is about to push the subject but she looks him in the eyes (or where she thinks they are through the visor at least) and glances pointedly in the Chancellor’s direction.

The message is clear: _Not right now. Later._

All Kosmos can do is sigh and nod, falling back into step behind her.

He thinks about the General and the Senator the rest of the way to the Chancellor’s office. Kosmos doesn’t know that much about Jedi, he’s made that abundantly clear. But the one thing almost everyone knows about their peculiar ways is the infamous “no attachments” rule. Kosmos personally doesn’t understand the rule, doesn’t really know how it’s possible not to form an attachment with someone, but he does know that is one subject the Jedi will never budge on.

Based on that knowledge, Kosmos is understandably perplexed about a Jedi like General Skywalker showing such obvious emotions not only to another person, but in front of an audience as well. It’s all a lot for Kosmos to think about, but without anyone to ask presently, he resolves to put it out of his mind for now and to ask General Skywalker about it later.

After what feels like forever, they finally arrive at the Chancellor’s office. Immediately six of the clones that escorted them here split and take positions down either side of the hall to guard. The other four follow them into the room and take positions first in the doorway, and then in the circular office itself, standing in silence with their DC-15s at the ready. Kosmos absently acknowledges how glad he is he doesn’t have to follow the most important figure in the Republic around all day, just waiting for something horrible to happen. He’s not sure he could handle all of that pent up energy.

The office consists of an entryway that leads into an open circular room with a large desk sitting in front of an enormous window overlooking the bustling city of Coruscant. As they make their way in, Kosmos sees a number of odd decorations that range from elaborate engravings mounted on the walls, to elegant vases presented proudly on pedestals. He would appreciate the obvious mastery that went into all of these pieces, but as he passes something about them feels… off, as if they were exuding the same sort of hollow energy he could feel from the Chancellor earlier.

The Chancellor takes a seat behind his desk and invites them all with a smile to sit down, sweeping a hand towards the four chairs that sit in front of him.

General Skywalker sits first, Commander Tano to his left, and then Kosmos on her left.

“I have a little under an hour until my next scheduled meeting, so we have plenty of time to talk.” The Chancellor states, smiling warmly enough at them, even though a voice in Kosmos’ head is still screaming _Bad! Very bad!_

General Skywalker grins. “I’m surprised they’re letting you have even this long of a break. Usually I don’t get more than half an hour with you.”

“Even politicians get a break every now and then young Skywalker.” The Chancellor chuckles. “Although not nearly as often as we would like I’m afraid. Now enough about politics, my boy. Tell me, how was your last deployment?”

General Skywalker immediately launches into a long winded explanation about bounty hunters and a village, but Kosmos isn’t paying attention.

It’s hard to ignore the emptiness in the room. No matter how hard he tries, Kosmos can’t escape the cold feeling.

_Raise your shields._ A voice, that sounds strangely like the Commander whispers in his mind. _Kosmos, raise your mental shields. It’ll help you block out whatever you’re feeling._

Kosmos tries not to jump out of his seat in the most important office in the galaxy, if only to give off the illusion that he had some dignity left. But it proves to be a difficult task. Yeah, he’s heard of a conscience before, but if he knew it came with the “15 Year Old Teenage Girl” voice modifier he would’ve sent it back to the manufacturer.

Kosmos takes a few steadying breaths, glancing at the Chancellor and General Skywalker to make sure they haven’t noticed his panic, and shuts his eyes. He doesn’t know what shields are, but apparently the commander does. But he can’t exactly ask her and interrupt the General’s detailed retelling of flipping onto a pirate’s speeder.

_Clear your mind, Kosmos,_ that same voice as before says, _think of nothing but emptiness. Once you have done that, create a wall out of it and wrap it around your consciousness._

Despite his hesitancy to follow a strange voice in his head, Kosmos is desperate to escape the intense cold that continues to seep deeper and deeper into his bones by the minute. So, he does what the Commander’s voice instructed first emptying his mind, (easy enough seeing as the clones were made with the ability to compartmentalize their thoughts to avoid distraction on the battlefield) and then imagining emptiness.

The first thing Kosmos pictures is the heavy and empty expanse of space. He spent dozens of nights staring out into the star riddled blackness, first during the training on Kamino, then those long weeks of traveling to his first assignment on Coruscant. He imagines turning it into a star riddled blanket, wrapping it warmly around his mind and keeping the harsh coldness out.

Immediately the strain on his mind lessens and warmth spreads through his body again. Not only that, but Kosmos all of a sudden feels as if he’s lost some sixth sense he didn’t know he had. Suddenly he doesn’t feel jittery excitement from General Skywalker, or the mischievous warmth of Commander Tano, or even the dull boredom from the clones.

As if someone has flicked a lightswitch, Kosmos feels completely in the dark.

It’s only now occurring to Kosmos that maybe the reason he could all of a sudden feel things he couldn’t before was probably due to all of a sudden having space wizard powers… oops. He probably should’ve realized that sooner.

But he’s getting ahead of himself. He will have time to unpack the Jedi magic stuff later, right now he’s just happy that the intense pressure of the room has seemed to have vanished.

Kosmos chances a glance at the others and finds Commander Tano pointedly refusing to look his way, choosing to stare intently at the still-monologuing General Skywalker. The Chancellor, however, is studying Kosmos with a strange glint in his eye, not looking away until Kosmos meets his eye.

Finally General Skywalker finishes his story, opting to leave out the flight back to Coruscant because “that’s the boring part” and instead inquiring about how the Chancellor was dealing with politics, albeit with a sour look on his face.

Palpetine chuckles warmly at the General’s antics. “Oh it’s been the same as usual, my boy. Long drawn out meetings without ever reaching any kind of substantial agreement. Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking, accepting this job,” he chuckles again, “but I’m glad I could accept the responsibility and lead us out of this war.”

“I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else but you for the job, Chancellor.” General Skywalker grins. “I’m sure we’ll see a swift end to the war under your leadership. We’re all very confident in your abilities.”

Kosmos notices that Commander Tano very obviously looks as though she wants to dispute that, but she never gets the chance because the strange old man chooses that moment to turn to Kosmos directly.

“Yes, I’m sure that is true, Anakin, but I wonder, what your soldiers think of this war so far? Tell me, Kosmos was it? How do you feel about the way this war is going?”

Kosmos is so caught off guard that he immediately breaks his concentration. He feels his nice soft starry blanket get set on fire and burned away mercilessly, releasing the protective barrier it had formed around his brain. Everything comes rushing in at once as the Jedi/force/magic, or whatever the kriff it is, causes him to feel everything in the room again. He was not prepared for this. _I have to talk!?_ He thinks, _I didn’t think I was going to have to talk! This is unfair!_

Externally Kosmos attempts to gather himself and manages to string together a sentence. “Well, your, um, Chancellorness,” _BAD START!!!_ “I haven’t really had the opportunity to serve on the battlefield yet. I’m only a shiny uh… sir? So I only recently got assigned to serve here on Coruscant and then I sorta got crushed, or I guess I didn’t? And then I spent a while being treated for getting my not crushed crushing fixed, and well as you can imagine that took a long time so I really can’t say whether or not we’ll um… What was the question.”

General Skywalker facepalms, which Kosmos thinks is unfair, while the Chancellor does his best to stay dignified, saying, “No, no, that’s quite alright, Kosmos, I think I see what you mean.”

“Are you sure? Because I could say it again and try to be a little clearer, Supreme High Chancellor, sir-”

“NO. I mean, no Kosmos it’s perfectly fine.”

Kosmos feels his cheeks redden under his helmet, which is not being helped by the way he can feel Commander Tano struggling not to lose it with his newly returned sixth sense. _Help me please!_ He mentally screams out, hoping she’ll get the message.

The Chancellor and the two Jedi all wince in varying degrees of harshness, letting Kosmos know that his message was received loud and clear, maybe too loud.

General Skywalker rolls his eyes but looks somewhat impressed, smiling humorously. “Well I think maybe we should be going, Chancellor, after all I did promise to take Kosmos to receive his next assignment here on Coruscant from Commander Fox. Are you ready, Snips?”

The Commander doesn’t answer immediately. She’s sitting as still as a rock, her face white and fearful, staring straight at the Chancellor. But he isn’t even sparing her a glance despite the way her eyes are boring holes into the side of his head. Kosmos is alarmed to see that the Chancellor is studying him once again, an unsettling expression on his face.

Kosmos shoots to his feet immediately. “Yes General, right behind you.” Kosmos doesn’t waste any time in heading straight for the door, eager now more than ever to get out of the Chancellor’s office. The intense cold that has been radiating from the strange pictures and vases intensifies and it takes all of his willpower not to sprint the remaining way.

He hears General Skywalker say “Let’s go Snips. Until next time Chancellor.” followed by and affirmative from the Chancellor, and then he’s stepping back into the corridors of the senate building, breathing heavily.

“That was a little strange… Are you two alright?” General Skywalker is looking at Kosmos and the Commander like he’s afraid they’re about to puke on his shoes.

“We’re fine, Master, just had to go to the bathroom.”

“Ok? Well you can go now?”

“There’s no time for that! We need to get Kosmos down to the Coruscant Guard Offices. No time to waste, Master, let’s go!” She takes off running down the hall, scattering senators and droids in her wake.

“But you said you had to go.” the General grumbles before, he too, breaks into a jog, apologizing to angry politicians for his Padawan as he goes. Kosmos actually does need to go to the bathroom, but he figures the sooner he can get away from the Senate building the better. And so, he too runs down the hall through the clearing left by the other two, chasing after the warmth of the Jedi and leaving behind the abrasive cold behind him.


End file.
